Px8 S2 Review: Can B&W’s Flagship Beat the Rest?

Bowers & Wilkins has a classic design that you can't miss: slim frame, perfectly proportioned ear cups, and fun colors that don't miss. The Px8 S2 checks all these boxes. The fit is a bit tighter than that of the original Px8, but the over-ear style stays the same and has approximately the same size to fit over your ear. Like the there B&W designs, I found the clamping force a bit too tight for my liking, but I was able to get used to it quickly in favor of a nice listening experience. 

The build quality on the Px8 S2 is nothing short of luxurious, with two sleek colors that show style as much as substance. The leather earpads are comfortable, and the aluminum frame is sturdy for long-term use. The detail in the Px8 S2's build is slightly different than the original, showing off a braided cable that is encased in the aluminum frame. It's a fun textural element that puts this a step above the previous models. 

Like all Bowers & Wilkins headphones, you get tactile buttons for music control on the Px8 S2. The button shape is the same as the Px7 S3, opting for a sleeker and more hidden design to integrate seamlessly with the overall look. It's a bit of a learning curve to find the buttons, but they work just the same as the old ones. You can skip tracks, increase/decrease volume, play/pause, and adjust noise cancellation. 

The Px8 S2 also comes with active noise cancellation. A common trait I have found in previous Bowers & Wilkins headphones is weak noise cancellation. In the Px8 S2, I find that they definitely improved on this. You get strong cancellation paired with a loud playback volume, so you are immersed in your music for hours of playback. The Px8 S2's battery life meets the standard of 30 hours, so you're set for a full day of travel and then some with these headphones at your side. 

In the Px8 S2's accompanying app, you can tune the sound to your exact liking. The advanced EQ gives you five bands across the frequency range to play with, so you can fully customize your listening experience and pre-save your preferences. You can also toggle between noise-canceling modes. With a multipoint connection, you can seamlessly connect the Px8 S2 to two devices and get sound from each with ease. 

• High-performance DSP with dedicated amplifier/DAC
• True 24-bit audio connection
• 5 band customisable EQ + TrueSound™ mode
• Bluetooth 5.3 with aptX™ Lossless technology
• Multipoint connectivity
• Active Noise Cancellation (ANC)
• USB-C charging and audio interface
• Fast charging support
• Apple MFi: Made For iPhone support
• Google Fast Pair
• Wearing style: Over-ear Noise-Cancelling Headphones
• Bluetooth codecs
  • aptX™ Lossless
  • aptX™ Adaptive
  • aptX™ HD
  • aptX™ Classic
  • AAC
  • SBC
• Microphones: 8 mics total, 4 mics per earcup
• Voice Call Quality Algorithm ADI Pure Voice
• Battery life & charging: 30 hours of playback, 15-minute charge for 7 hours playback

SOUNDSTAGE & IMAGING

Now we move on to the most important part of the review: the listening. Listening to the Px8 S2 was extremely fun, offering a dynamic tuning that handled different genres with ease. It was crisp and clean in its instrument placement, allowing you to clearly picture all the different elements in tracks. The width made the sound wrap around your head, and it made the sound immersive and realistic. You get decent height in this sound signature, and like the original Px8, a good amount of depth to make the layers in tracks more prominent and separated. 

Bowers & Wilkins has a bit of a bass-heavy sound signature for their headphones, and the Px8 S2 is no different. The overall signature shows nice balance, and the dynamics are stark with a booming bass and sparkling highs. This detailed sound is great for audiophiles who want fun, analytical sound on the go. You won't miss a single thing in any range of the sound signature, as the precise detail is a trait that is featured in every frequency range.  

BASS FREQUENCIES

The bass in the Px8 S2 is geared towards those low-end lovers. If you're a fan of a powerful, booming bass, then the standard tuning on the Px8 S2 will definitely be for you. The low end takes up space and has impressive body for all the instruments that fall into this range. Instruments have sufficient texture and timbre to be distinct and separate from one another. When you cut the bass frequencies in the app, you get a tighter bass response that is punchy and driving for those upbeat genres. It is more controlled and pointed in its response than the standard tuning. This adaptable bass response makes the Px8 S2 a great choice for a host of different listeners. 

MIDRANGE FREQUENCIES

The Px8 S2 is advertised for having reference sound as opposed to performance sound like its predecessors. This reference sound is most heard in the forward midrange, where you get the most detail and power for your listening. The clarity in this range is exceptional and provides detail that will be a close competitor with the Px7 S3. Vocals in the Px8 S2 sounded realistic and naturally placed in the soundstage, as well as the other frequencies that were transparent and textured to give high-quality sound for any track. I was a big fan of acoustic performances, where the instruments had natural sound reproduction and placement in a host of different genres. 

TREBLE FREQUENCIES

The treble in the Px8 S2 keeps the theme of clarity and power. Like the low end, the treble takes a small backseat in favor of letting the midrange come forward. Still, this doesn't take away from the brightness that this range provides. In the treble, you can appreciate the top-end space that this range provides, showing off reverbs and room tones. In more orchestral recordings, this spatial sound is valuable in making the listening experience immersive and realistic. I liked the airiness that you get out of this range in the Px8 S2, making upper register vocals and instruments have an extra shine to them to balance the heaviness from the bass. The roll-off at the top felt natural to ensure the sound was not overly compressed.

Naturally, people have a few questions in regards to this new Px8 S2: how does it sound next to the original? Are there really that many differences between the new and old? Do I have to upgrade? A simple side-by-side listen reveals a few things. 

 For one, the Px8 S2 is definitely louder than the Px8. At the same volume number on my phone, you get a significantly louder sound from the new headphones as opposed to the old. Sonically, you're going to hear a lot of the same things in terms of timbre and textural elements. Bowers & Wilkins keeps to a similar sound signature from one headphone to the next, but they still introduce more refinement and cleaned-up sound in the Px8 S2. You can hear how the Px8 S2 handles larger ensembles with greater precision than the Px8, and the loud sound allows you to become more immersed in your listening than ever before. 

This difference is very similar to how the Px7 S3 was an upgrade to the Px7 S2e. Louder sound, slightly different style, and musical refinement. I would group the Px8 S2 and the Px7 S3 in the same class of audiophile sound. Their difference? The Px8 offers more for reference and natural sound lovers, while the Px7 S3 competes with the likes of Sony and Sennheiser for everyday use.